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The North Dakota Game and Fish Department reminds winter anglers to clean up the ice after fishing. This not only applies to trash, but fish as well.

It is not only unsightly, but it is illegal to leave fish behind on the ice. According to the fishing proclamation, when a fish is caught anglers must either immediately release the fish back into the water unharmed, or reduce them to their daily possession.

Adults and children looking to take a hunter education class in 2013 are reminded to enroll now as the majority of all classes are held by the end of May.

Zach Peterson, hunter education coordinator for the North Dakota Game and Fish Department, said classes held early in the year fill up quickly because of the deer application deadline. “There is a major demand for classes held before June because they will qualify students for submitting a deer application,” Peterson said.

Harvest statistics released by the North Dakota Game and Fish Department show overall hunter success during the 2012 season for bighorn sheep was 100 percent, 93 percent for moose and 62 percent for elk.

The department issued three bighorn sheep lottery licenses and one auction license. All four hunters harvested a bighorn ram.

North Dakota Game and Fish Department fisheries personnel continue to update or add new fishing waters to the list of available contour maps on the department’s website.

Jerry Weigel, fisheries production and development section leader, said each year data is collected on a few new waters or existing waters that have experienced significant change. Contour fishing maps are developed from this data to show the layout of the lake, public access and local facilities.

The North Dakota Game Wardens Association has a $300 scholarship available for a graduating high school senior entering college in fall 2013 who enrolls in fisheries or wildlife management with an emphasis on law enforcement.

Applicants must be North Dakota residents and have maintained a 3.25 grade point average. The scholarship will be awarded to the student upon proof of enrollment in college.

Light goose hunters planning to hunt during North Dakota’s spring season can purchase a license online at the state Game and Fish Department’s website. The season opens Feb. 16 and continues through May 5.

Residents can hunt during the spring season by having last fall’s 2012-13 bird licenses. Otherwise, hunters will need to purchase either a 2013-14 combination license; or a small game, and general game and habitat license.

The North Dakota Game and Fish Department’s annual midwinter waterfowl survey in early January indicated 159,000 birds were still hanging around the state.

Mike Szymanski, migratory game bird biologist, said an estimated 123,000 Canada geese were observed on the Missouri River, and another 2,100 were scattered on Nelson Lake. Lake Sakakawea, declared frozen over on Dec. 26, had only about 100 geese near the Garrison Dam intake structure. Szymanski said after summarizing the numbers, a total of 127,000 Canada geese and 31,700 mallards were tallied statewide.

The state Game and Fish Department is offering 5,930 wild turkey licenses for the spring hunting season, an increase of 135 from last year. The increase is a result of better production and chick recruitment.

Seven of the 22 hunting units have more spring licenses than in 2012, while 12 remain the same. Unit 21 (most of Hettinger and Adams counties) is again closed in 2013 due to lack of turkeys in the unit.

The state Agriculture and Game and Fish departments have launched a cooperative project to connect coyote hunters and trappers with landowners who would like to reduce coyote populations in their area.

Called the “Coyote Catalog,” the project creates an online database similar to what the North Dakota Game and Fish Department has used for the past several years to match deer hunters with farmers/ranchers who wanted to reduce deer populations on their land.